Virtu Ferries will be deploying the Jean de la Valette on the Malta-Sicily route between Valletta, Augusta and Catania in the first quarter of next year.
The company said the vessel will join the Saint John Paul II which will continue to service the ports of Valletta and Pozzallo.
This additional scheduled service is in response to the requirements of Maltese and Sicilian importers and exporters. A dual high-speed service will prove to be a catalyst for bringing trade and tourism between Malta and Sicily back to pre-COVID levels and beyond, Virtu said.
With a capacity of 800 passengers and a garage for 156 vehicles or 60 vehicles and 20 trailers, the Jean de la Valette will be the second-largest high-speed RoPax deployed in the Mediterranean, second only to Virtu’s flagship the St John Paul II.
The Jean de la Valette is currently chartered to the government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Virtu said it operated throughout the pandemic lockdown, bringing essential goods to the island and would continue to do so in full observance to all health requirements, including social distancing during the entire voyage, embarkation and disembarkation.